Samye Monastery

Samye Monastery is in Samye town, Zhanang county, Shannan district Tibet. It’s at the foot of Habu Mountain which is on the north shore of Brahmaputra River. It was first built on 8th century the Tubo Dynasty period. This is the first monastery in Tibet that tonsuring monk. The architecture in the monastery was built according to the Buddhist cosmology. The central palace has Tibetan, Han and India styles. So the Samye monastery is also called Sanyang Monastery.Inside the circle wall of Samye Monastery, there is the mortal world of the masses. Many palaces are free to watch, except the world center – Wuce Palace. Have an overlook from the hill in the southeast of the Samye Monastery, we will see the complete Mandala-like alter town. This spot is also the best place to shoot pictures for the unique Samye model.

It’s very dark in the monastery. Flashlight is necessary here. Samye Monastery has a large scale of architecture, and the distribution is unique. At the beginning of entering the monastery, tourists may get confused by the strange layouts. But once you get to know the meaning of those single buildings and their function in the whole monastery, most of the tourists would be amazed and shocked by the marvelous and splendid buildings in architecture history.Wuce Palace is the main palace in Samye Monastery. It’s in the very center of the monastery area. The palace faces to the east and has three stories. The bottom story is Tibetan style, and the middle story is Han style, and the top one is India style. That’s why is also called Sanyang Monastery. On the corridor inner wall of the Wuce Palace, there lays the famous ‘Tibetan history’ mural. It shows the achievements of many figures date to the 9th Dalai Lama. The mural is 92m long, and grand and magnificent. It’s also known as the Tibetan painting history.Except some places in the large palace, most of the area in the circle wall of Samye Monastery is free for shooting. Well just in case, you better ask the monk before do it. They will always be polite.